A/N: Hopefully this time I'll proofread it. -_- Sorry about that. Enjoy Chapter 2!


Darkness. He was in an endless expanse of darkness. As he floated through it, he lost all sense of time, and he didn't care in the slightest. His mind was blank, empty. Everything was peaceful.

But then there was a flash of light. Then another, and another. He watched with childlike amazement, when he felt something behind him. He turned himself over slowy, and beheld a strange man. At first glance, there was nothing unusual about him, and yet, beneath that large, brown coat, and underneath that hood, Lirus felt something… otherworldly about this man.

"Welcome to the Beginning, Lirus." His voice was deep and rich, sounding old, far older then Lirus thought possible.

"The beginning of what?" Lirus felt like a child before this man. He felt small, and insignificant, as if he were an ant beholding a god. And yet, no threat issued from this man, and he did nothing but fold his long arms behind his back. Lirus could see the corners of the man's mouth turn up in a slight smile.

"That's an excellent question. It is always the good questions that have no good answers to them, none that can be found easily." The man said, that small smile still on his obscured face, "The Beginning isn't an act. It is the name of this place."

"..So its just the name, huh…can you tell me something, then?" Lirus tilted his head, and the man chuckled.

"You may ask any question you desire. I may even answer some of them."

"…Well..for starters..what is this place? Where am I? How did I get here?" Lirus glanced around to see the stars rapidly forming into galaxies around him. The man laughed.

"As I said before, you are in the Beginning. Be thankful you are not at the End." Here the man chuckled some more before getting serious and continuing. "As for what this place is..all I can say is this. Everything has its place in this reality, Lirus. However, there are certain…beings…that like to take things out of where they belong and thrust them into various situations. And more importantly, there's one thing you must remember, Lirus Remingham. The Game has begun." And with that, the man vanished, and as he did, Lirus felt himself rising up, as if someone hooked a chain around his stomach and began hoisting him up at great speed. The last thing he saw was a dark figure cackling. Then he awoke.


He was lying in a hospital bed, and the palm of his right hand itched something terrible. He cracked open his eyelids and was relieved to see the lights were off in the room. However, it was still light enough for him to take a look at his surroundings.

It was clear that he was lying in a hospital room. The traditional white walls, sterile white floors, and the uncomfortable bed attested to that. There was a soft, golden light filtering through the window, and as he looked outside, he noticed three things. The light was coming from some indefinable source from outside, it was night, and wherever he was, it was moving.

"Its night…jeez, how long was I out? And more importantly, where am I? I remember…the Garden...must've been a dream..." He rubbed his head, and slowly got out of the bed. "Well…I won't find out if I don't go looking…hope nobody minds…" He tested his leg strength, and found that they could hold his weight, so he stood up cautiously, leaning against the wall. He made his way out of the room, to reveal a familiar looking office. He saw a young woman slumped over the front desk, and walked quietly by her, not wanting to disturb her.

As he made his way out of the office, he found himself in a very familiar, large, circular room with two floors. He let out a slight gasp.

"Wait...this can't be right...it wasn't a dream after all?!"At that point, he heard a woman's voice from behind him.

"Ah, you're awake! You should've woke me up!" He turned around to see the young woman that was sleeping at the desk, her long brown hair messily fluffed. She blushed at his scrutinizing. "Well, what do you expect a girl to look like when she sleeps at a desk!" She hastily tried to flatter her hair as Lirus cracked a small smile.

"Uh...sorry its just…I'm a little confused right now…" He stumbled over his words, "Uh..can you tell me where I am?" He hoped she wouldn't say what he thought she would. But she did, with the most gentle smile you would ever see.

"You're in Balamb Garden. Well, we're not really located in Balamb anymore." She laughed, "Right now, we're about two miles off Centra's Eastern coast."

Lirus groaned silently.

"But more importantly, you need to get back to bed. You're still unsteady on your feet, and could use a few more hours of bedrest." He nodded, not giving any argument, and silently followed her back to the bed in the infirmary.


Above, on the second floor, a man wearing a hooded cloak smiled to himself as he watched Lirus shuffle his way back into the infirmary. He put his hand on the slender gunblade at his right side, turned, and walked away.